I want to live in rural Kansas (Wichita, Kansas City: new home, schools)

[jmages]

Need to check out Argonia, KS. Only about 35 minutes from Wichita. Check out argoniadevelopment.com. They are giving away free 1 acre lots if you'll build a home. Going to be a nice development! Check it out!

[Desertlovers]

jmages:

Thanks for the info about the free 1 acre lots in Argonia. I'll check it out. Do you think the town might grow fast, since they are giving away free property? Are you going to move there yourself? Are any other cities in Kansas doing this? Thanks, Claire

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Desertlovers

jmages: ... Do you think the town might grow fast, since they are giving away free property? Are you going to move there yourself? Are any other cities in Kansas doing this? Thanks, Claire

www.kansasfreeland.com

Lincoln County is pretty nice, but a ways out (that can be good!!) There are restrictions that have concerned me;

some require $100k investment into new home, yet you can buy a home in town for 1/2 that. (hope you never need to sell...)

Some restrict 'owner builder', and must use local contractors (that would be a problem for me, since I'm on house #19...)

Most encourage lot's-o'-kids to up the state funding of their schools. There has been an influx of hispanics which is not bad, (they are generally very good citizens and families) if they can be integrated and get jobs rather than get aid.

Find a community that is also focused on growing sustainable jobs and services as well as additional school residents

BTW, free land in NE, WY, SD, ND too, similar situations
use a 'dogpile.com' search, with series of keywords, or Google ... (if that is your style)

[Desertlovers]

janb:

Thanks for the info. Will check out the link. Some of the restrictions might be too much for us too. Will take all of it into consideration. It's sure hard to believe that states give away free land in this day and age, isn't it? Thanks again, Claire

[^..^Wolfy]

To answer your questions... first off sorry it took so long.

How much do you think homes will go up? Its hards to say now but my moms house was $27,000 when she baught it 9 years ago. There is another identical house down the street and they are planning on putting it up for $68,000. So there is a jump there.


Do you have a lot of community events and activities in town?
There are a few, constant craft fairs, community garage sales and the schools have things, there is the annual thresher shows which is fun. They have old steam tractors, tractor pulls, people selling things.

What type of work do most people do?
Well, my sister is the city clerk, her hubby drives a truck hes usually here every weekend. MY mom drives to burlington colorado to work in the prison. There are different things to do, farmers, daycare. I am trying to get into an assistant job and the lady will help me get working on schooling to start a business inwhich in return help grant me the money. They are looking for people (families) to move to town to open a business. Im going into dog grooming since they dont have anything near by and everyone has dogs. I also make and sell soy wax candles.
With my

What was life in Denver like?
LOL i was born and raised there and i dont want to go back. I am going through a separation but the kids and i dont want to go back. I lived in Parker colorado and it has grown so much that my daughters school (K-3) was over 800 kids alone. Of course my husband asked to date me and be his girl friend but wants me to go back there and from being there to coming here... its too relaxing here. No traffic, everyone knows everyone. You dont have to lock doors at night. Trying to get him to move here... our hosue in parker was $200,000 heck we could sell it and pay off everything and get a new hosue to start our lives over with. He is a mechanic so where ever he goes there will be work. In denver there was too much traffic, violence, you couldnt walk inside your house for 2 minutes without worring about your car being stolen, kids playing outside alone, it would never happen there.

any other ??? just ask ill try to check back sooner.

[Desertlovers]

Wolfy:

Thanks for writing. Appreciate all the information!

Do people do well when they sell at the craft fairs? Does the town come out to support them?

We've owned 5 craft/gift stores out here in the west, and it might be nice to start making and selling crafts again. Is there a craft store or craft mall nearby?

Does people have yard/garage sales year-round?

Good luck with your dog-grooming business! Your candles sound great! Do you sell them on a web-site?

I don't blame you for not wanting to move back to Denver. Thanks again for all of the help! I'll keep checking back too. Happy New Year! Hope you have a nice holiday....Claire in AZ

[^..^Wolfy]

Ive done 3 craft fairs one of which was the thresher show and i made a good $500 off of it. There is alot of support out here, my mom gets jars dropped off at her door for me so i can make and sell more candles. In Denver i made $100. There is alot more compitition there and not a lot of good quality.
There is not any craft malls but there are buildings for sale that you can easily get. Im looking at getting a store front so i can sell my candles but i would also do cosignments. Sell some other people things if they want me too.
The first craft show i did was nic, didnt do alot in money but the other crafters there were very nice, it was in mcdonald, next town over. There was this older woman that makes aprons for kids and adults. I baught one so i can make my candles and she baught a candle, i sold it for the same price so she was getting her money back. Basically exchange.
As for yard sales... i just did the highway 36 sale here in kansas. Pay like $5 to have your name and address put on the map and towns along highway 36 will have yard/garage sales. That was in october, I did pretty well there too but i braught some things from home to sell too.

[Desertlovers]

Wolfy:

Happy New Year! Thanks for writing.

The highway yard sales sound great. How often do they have them? Do other towns in Kansas have yard sales like this too?

What do people in Bird City usually do for New Year's Eve? Do many people have parties? Do people gather together downtown? Or, do most people stay in and have a quiet evening at home alone, or with family?

I'm not one to go out on New Year's Eve because I don't want to drive home and run into drunk people on the roads. Kind of spooky! Also, police around here could set up check-points, and stop all drivers, to see who has been drinking, etc. This can tie up traffic for quite awhile. Did Denver have anything like this?

Nice that people in town support your candlemaking business, and drop off jars off for you. That's so sweet. Good luck if you decide to open up a candle and craft store.

We operated our first craft shops on consigment. Later on, we bought wholesale from craft people all across the county.

We still have stock left from our stores....all over our house. We also have books all over our house now too because we're book-sellers on E-bay. It will be quite an ordeal to move out of state because we'll have to figure out if we want to keep everything, or not.

Thanks for keeping in touch!! Have a nice holiday...Claire

[kanza05]

Hi, I'm new here and happened to run across this post. You should really look into Cottonwood Falls, KS. It is situated right in the middle of the Flint Hills and is on the Flint Hills Scenic Byway. It is a picturesque little town with a brick main street that leads up to a beautiful courthouse (the oldest active courthouse in the state). I am from Newton, a mid-sized town in South Central KS, but my family and I visit quite often and stay at a local B&B; "Clover Cliff Ranch". The town is only 30 min away from Emporia which is a large-sized town with a 4-year University. Cottonwood Falls is a great place with great people. I hope this helps some. Good Luck!

[Desertlovers]

Kanza05:

Thanks for the info about Cottonwood Falls! We'll check it out on the Internet. Happy New Year!! Claire